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On Thursday evening, amid swirling speculation concerning a shooting at Brown University, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins posted on social media, highlighting the uncertainty and pointing viewers to her network’s 9pm newscast.

While the network is hardly a impeccable news source, her words rang true to many. It stands as one of the broadcasters where you can find reality-based and mostly reliable reporting – especially during crises such as the one unfolding in the vicinity of a New Hampshire storage facility.

An Uncertain State During a Corporate Tug-of-War

But CNN, now middle-aged, finds itself in a uncertain position as two huge media corporations battle over ownership of its corporate owner, Warner Bros Discovery.

Regardless of who wins, the fate of CNN has turned into a high-risk game of mergers and acquisitions, instead of as a question of what serves the news-consuming public.

“This represents another instance of the profound systemic issues with roots in decades of policy decisions,” said Victor Pickard, writer of “Democracy Without Journalism?” and a academic specializing in media policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The speculation about who will own Warner Bros Discovery – will it be Netflix or Paramount Skydance? – overlooks a more important point.

“It is often framed as a business story with influential figures as the central actors, but there is very little discussion of the societal benefit,” Pickard said.

A Further Factor: The Former President

This situation is further muddied by Donald Trump’s views about a network he has consistently labeled as perhaps his chief “fake news” antagonist.

Remember the chants of “CNN sucks!” at the president’s rallies, his administration's retaliatory revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press credentials, or his clashes with Collins in press briefings.

Trump now claims that CNN needs new ownership. This can be interpreted as ownership that will insulate him from criticism and scrutiny. That is one reason why he appears to support Paramount Skydance, which has made a hostile bid.

Trump has reason to prefer that suitor more. For one thing, it is run by David Ellison, son of the Trump-friendly Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people.

Paramount, parent of CBS News, also recently appointed the right-leaning Bari Weiss, noted for her “anti-woke” beliefs, as the lead editor of that venerable news network.

A Future of Continued Instability

It is important to note, if Netflix wins, CNN and other cable outlets would first be spun off into a standalone company. That would be a welcome development to many at the network, but it’s not exactly a secure position. That arrangement could pave the way for CNN for a future sale. It never ends.

If you ask Timothy Wu, a great deal of this is illegal, anyway. The prominent critic of big tech’s dominance recently argued that anti-trust laws should block both deals.

“Each proposed deal would be bad for the country, and both should be challenged by regulators,” Wu argued.

The Core Challenge and a Path Forward

No matter the outcome with this particular battle, the larger issue endures.

“Our current system is a highly anti-democratic system, but we must resist learned helplessness,” Pickard emphasized. Government actions – from the 1930s and 1940s – helped to create this hyper-commercialized monster, and different policy decisions can tackle it.

Can reform occur in an era where the Federal Communications Commission chair refuses to acknowledge that the agency is independent? Overhaul is very unlikely now, but that doesn’t mean it will be impossible forever.

Measures that bolster independent news organizations, bolster local journalism, finance public media, and outlaw the accumulation of media power in too few hands are achievable – they are vital for a healthy democracy.

In the world of media ownership, size does not equal quality. And news organizations including CNN shouldn’t be pieces in the most recent merger game.